“I don’t know what to talk about…” That’s one of the biggest reasons people shy away from creating videos. But what if you always knew what you’re going to talk about? Keep watching to find out how to write youtube scripts for better engagement.
How to write YouTube scripts for better engagement
Today I’m going to talk about creating YouTube scripts for your videos and the foolproof formula that you can learn from watching any TV show or movie.
So, let’s get to it.
Always know what you’re going to talk about
Not knowing what to talk about was a big reason I didn’t create videos for a long time. I don’t like being unorganized and I’m not a great speaker when I have to improvise.
If you think about it professional speakers or even actors wouldn’t go on stage without some sort of script. They wouldn’t know what to do or talk about. Of course, if you’re a veteran speaker then you’ll already be used to being on stage and knowing what’s going to happen. BUT as a beginner that’s a whole other story. There’s a lot that we’re not used to. Mainly, speaking to a camera or being comfortable in the spotlight. If you outline all the things you want to talk about, even if you stray away from the main topic, you’ll get back on track without losing time.
Professional speakers or even actors wouldn’t go on stage without some sort of script.
At first, I outlined my YouTube scripts, but I find that I’m actually a better writer than a speaker. Not only that, but I use my scripts for my blog posts instead of a transcript, so sometimes you might notice that the blog post and transcript are a little different. A full YouTube script also saves me time when I’m filming. So if you’re a better writer and tend to freeze when you forget your thoughts or take lots of time filming when you’re going on the fly, then create a full YouTube script. I know it might take some time to write out a script, but it’s worth it comes to filming your videos.
Formatting your videos to create a memorable brand
Having a script keeps your videos on brand. In the video, ‘HOW TO BUILD YOUR BRAND ON YOUTUBE’, I talk about how your systems and processes are a part of your branding. Well, the way you format your videos or your script is a part of your branding. Keeping the same script format can let your audience know what to expect from you every time you upload a new video.
You might think it’s boring to keep using the same format, but you have to remember your content is always changing. I’ll show you in a minute when I talk about the perfect script format you should follow. I just want to mention that as a business, keeping the same script format saves you so much time and energy. You’ll know how to format your videos, but have different content each time.
As a business, keeping the same script format saves you so much time and energy.
How should you format your YouTube script?
So, how do you format the perfect script for your YouTube videos? I’m going to make it super simple by using one of my favorite shows, ‘Elementary’, as an example.
The Hook
First, we’re going to start with the hook. This is the teaser or how you hook your audience to keep watching your video. You don’t want to start your videos off boring by introducing yourself or rambling. The viewer came to watch your video with a purpose in mind. Let them know that they’re in the right place.
Every episode of Elementary starts with a hook. It usually starts with the crime taking place. Once we see the crime, we’re already hooked because we want to know ‘why’ the crime took place, ‘who’ did the crime, ‘how’ are Sherlock and Watson going to solve the crime.
You’re hook can be as easy as telling your audience what to expect from your video or telling them what problems you’re going to solve.
The Opening
Now we get to the opening. As soon as the crime happens in Elementary, we, as the audience are left with the opening. We’re a little bit disappointed because we want to know what happens next, but just because the opening starts we don’t leave. We want to know what’s going to happen next so we wait to watch the whole episode.
For your videos, you can have a short 5 to 10-second opening. You don’t want it to be too long because most people don’t care. I mean when you’ve seen the Elementary opening once, you already know it’s just a song, images and introducing the characters.
After the opening and commercials, we get into the main show. The main characters, Sherlock and Watson, are introduced along with maybe the Chief and/or Marcus. Even if they aren’t directly introduced you can guess who they are if it’s your first time watching.
There are times when you might have new audience members who don’t know who you are, so you can quickly introduce yourself in the opening. Honestly, I do this because my name is hard to pronounce so I want people to get used to it. Paigon is a unique name.
The Main Content
Then we get into the main content. You’re going to talk about what you promised at the beginning of your video. In Elementary, we’re going to start solving the crime. First, we investigate the scene. Next, we start investigating the victim’s background. Then we start instigating potential suspects.
Your video should follow the same format. You should outline the main points of your video because this is what you’re audience is excited for.
The Call to Action
Before we end the show, we’re going to have a call to action. For Elementary, those calls to action are different. There are 50 million commercials during Elementary. Because we want to solve the case, we keep watching. The other calls to action are to check out next week’s episode and/or to watch the show that’s coming on after Elementary.
Just like Elementary, we also want to have a call to action. Your calls to action could be your viewer signing up for your email list, signing up for a webinar, subscribing to your YouTube channel, liking your video, or checking out your other social media channels.
Just a warning, don’t have 50 million calls to action. You’re just going to overwhelm your viewer. Try to keep it up to 2. Something to do with your business, like subscribing to your email list, and then subscribing to your channel.
The End
Once you’re done with your call to action, you can summarize your main points and sign off. You can pull an Elementary and give a preview of the next show to get your viewer interested in subscribing to your channel so they’ll catch the next episode.
If you want to grab a copy of your own YouTube script template, you can download your copy here.
I don’t have time for this, just tell me how to write YouTube scripts for better engagement
To write YouTube scripts for better engagement, you want to hook your viewer so they want to keep watching. Have a short opening that can include a short intro. Get to the main points of the video. Give a call to action and end your video with a summary and maybe a sneak peek at next week’s video.
Do you follow a script for your videos? Let me know in the comments below.
